Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Hi. You see those muffins up top there? The ones that actually look more like cupcakes with their gloriously creamy frosting? Yeah, those. They are healthy. Like whole wheat, low sugar, full of nutrition healthy. They don’t look healthy. But they are. Which is the best kind of healthy.

Of course, my definition of healthy might vary drastically from yours and both of ours are probably different from the person down the street. Healthy is a totally relative term (and part of the reason why it is so full of contention all the time). For something to be considered “healthy” in my book, it has to focus more on being nutrient-dense than anything else—and that’s what these muffins are. Delicious, healthy, nutrient-dense little balls of awesome.

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The majority of the sweetness in these muffins comes in the form of creamy, spicy, apple-tastic Musselman’s Apple Butter. They are low on the added sugar and high on the moisture thanks to the ole A.B. They are dense. Sweet. Moist. And packed full of good-for-you-ingredients like whole wheat flour, walnuts, carrots (duh), and raisins.

I love baking with apple butter because you can use it in place of most of the fat and sugar in your regular baking recipes—it’s a great time saver. And I love, in particular, baking with Musselman’s Apple Butter because the only ingredients are apples, sugar, and spices. No weird additives! Just like I would make it at home if I managed to actually make it to the apple orchard and pick my own apples last Fall. Which I did not. Life, man.

I am thrilled to be partnering up with Musselman’s again in 2016 (we had so much fun last year with pulled pork and donuts and pizza) to bring you a few fun ways to use apple butter in your cooking. We all know apple butter is totally dreamy slathered on a hot buttermilk biscuit (swoon!), but I love it as an ingredient in cooking and baking, too. It just adds a little somethin’ somethin’ that sends food over the top.

These muffins are wonderful on their own. They are very dense and hearty, but they are tender and moist without any need to add butter on top or dip them in your coffee. You could totally make these and skip the frosting and still be thrilled with your results.

BUT. What’s carrot cake without cream cheese frosting? Nothing. That’s what.

So that’s why I made a healthy version of cream cheese frosting. This healthier version flips the script—just a touch of honey is added to softened cream cheese to make a perfectly tangy and smooth topping for the muffins. It’s a lot more cream cheese than frosting, and it’s the perfect complement to these beauties.

One more bit of rambling before I finally give you the recipe, these muffins are an awesome choice for the freezer! Once they are cool, before frosting them, just plop them in a freezer zip-top bag and freeze away. When you’re ready to eat one, wrap it up in a paper towel and nuke it for 30-40 seconds until warm. Yum! Enjoy.

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Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Yield: 12 regular muffins or 24 mini muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Healthy cake? Yup! Packed with whole grains, low on the sugar, and totally tasty, these healthy carrot cake muffins are a great breakfast option.

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Ingredients

For the Muffins:

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded carrots (about 3 large)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup Musselman’s Apple Butter
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil

For the Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, carrots, raisins, and walnuts until well mixed. Set aside.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the apple butter, honey or maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Stir until smooth.
4. Add the apple butter mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Do not over mix (this results in tough muffins), a few lumps of flour are fine.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 2/3 of the way. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops begin to crack and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a baking rack.
7. Make the frosting by combining the cream cheese and honey or maple syrup until smooth. Spread onto cooled muffins.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 muffin
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 333Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 506mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 4gSugar: 25gProtein: 6g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.